Legal highs: what you need to know

More than 20 festivals banned the sale of legal highs this year - here's the deal

Legal doesn't mean safe Legal highs are designed to produce similar effects to illegal drugs, therefore being just different enough from class-A drugs to avoid being controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act. You won't be thrown in jail for carrying or using them, but it doesn't make them safe. In 2011, nearly a fifth of substances advertised as 'legal highs' were found to contain banned drugs, and they're often made using dangerous cocktails of substances. Side-effects include delusions, heart attacks, paranoia and – if you get the dose wrong – death. In 2012, 68 people died in the UK as a result of taking legal highs – double the rate of overdoses compared to other European countries.

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They're treading a thin line legally Legal highs are impossible to police as the creators can alter a single ingredient to make a substance legal again. Last year, 81 products came on to the market, often sold as 'bath salts' or 'plant food'. "The label may say 'Not for human consumption', which allows makers to get around the law," says John Corkery, co-author of a report for the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths. "As soon as one ingredient's banned, they replace it with another. The police are forever trying to get one step ahead of the chemists, which makes it difficult to crack down on."

They're not legal everywhere You could end up in serious trouble if you take legal highs with you abroad. "Even if a substance isn't banned in the UK, it might be at your holiday destination," says Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker. With countries such as Thailand still giving out life sentences for possession, things could go very wrong if your legal high contains even mild traces of class-A drugs.

A website isn't safer than a dealer Legal highs are often sold online, with some websites offering 20% off your first order, free delivery and even loyalty points (described by one supplier as "a Nectar card for party people"). "People are shunning drugs such as heroin, which they perceive to be 'dirty,'" says Baker. "But they wrongly perceive legal alternatives to be safe. Just because you don't have to go to a dealer doesn't mean the product won't put you in danger." "Legal highs are cut and mixed in different ways," adds Corkery. "There are huge variations between batches – it's guesswork. The drug might not do anything for you. Or it could kill you…'